Give the gift of education.

Give the gift of education.

“‘Tis the season of giving, and all through the nation, the most beloved gift is education.”

In November 2013, GEM Advertising decided to give its own holiday gift to Albertus Magnus College, a client for whom we are the agency of record. In the spirit of the holidays, we put together a campaign based around the adage of the gift that keeps on giving, and we called it, ‘Give the gift of education.’ The campaign was truly a gift; we created, wrote, cast, shot, edited and trafficked the television spot completely free of charge. The campaign also included digital boards in New Haven and Hartford.

The concept stems from the view of education as a point of divergence; a period in time where someone’s life gets dramatically altered and steered towards a brighter future. There are many gifts that are timely, expendable, and ultimately useful only for that moment in time. Education, on the other hand, is a gift that stays with you forever, and one that changes your life – and the people in it.

In the spot, a mother and son struggle to come up with gifts for one another. By the end, we see that they’ve given each other the same gift: a set of school supplies. This reflects the college’s ability to admit both traditional undergraduates and adult students in their Division of Professional and Graduate Studies.